ERIC Number: EJ1091757
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014-Oct
Pages: 2
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Advice to Parents from Gifted Gay Male Youth
Friedrichs, Terence Paul
Parenting for High Potential, v4 n2 p19-20 Oct 2014
Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (GLBTQ) youth have many strengths, with about 24% of boys and 48% of girls in seven metropolitan GLBTQ support groups identifying as gifted. Similarly, approximately 30% of 1,000 online GLBTQ adult respondents indicated that they, too, had attained gifted-range accomplishments. Parents of gifted GLBTQ youth have an additional challenge: Not only do parents need to advocate for their children's academic identities, but they also need to help foster and support their social-emotional, psychological, and sexual identities. A number of years ago, the author conducted an extensive, interview-based, research study of four gifted gay males at a state school for the arts. Through the process, the students offered compelling insights to how their parents could support their strengths. Their suggestions aligned with gifted gay males' preferences from three other research studies the author conducted in the 1990s. This article presents the following six ways parents can support and nurture the strengths of gifted GLBTQ children: (1) Provide Positive Information about Sexual Minorities; (2) Point Out GLBTQ Role Models; (3) Encourage Independence; (4) Offer Multiple Forms of Sexual-Minority Acceptance; (5) Support Student Gifts; and (6) Provide Support for Emerging Community-Engagement Efforts.
Descriptors: Homosexuality, Sexual Orientation, Sexual Identity, Parent Role, Child Rearing, Males, Academically Gifted, Role Models, Adolescent Development, Access to Information, Self Concept, Social Attitudes
National Association for Gifted Children. 1331 H Street NW Suite 1001, Washington, DC 20005. Tel: 202-785-4268; Fax: 202-785-4248; e-mail: nagc@nagc.org; Web site: http://www.nagc.org/php.aspx
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Parents
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A